Last night I was reading an article about a start-up that claims it can help prospective parents by allowing them to choose healthy embryos. I’ve written multiple times about my fears around tech companies that want to create genetically perfect matches, and my relief that my parents were never concerned with finding a cure for…
Month: May 2021
Getting Lost in Language
I learnt something about power in advocacy spaces when I studied abroad in Colombia. Specifically about communication involving people who speak different languages. It’s something I’ve wanted to write about for a while, but I’ve never been quite sure if I’m the right person to share it. I’m hoping that by writing about this, others…
Who has the Right to Cause Hurt?
This semester I’m taking a class in European human rights law. It’s one of the most complex and deeply interesting classes I’ve ever taken, not least because it forces me to ask myself difficult questions that I may not want to answer. I think that’s so important as a student, that I’m challenged to push…
There’s no map for navigating loss
Earlier this week I received a call from Guide Dogs finalising the rehoming of Isla, my retired dog. In four days, she’ll have lived with her new family for two years, but various logistical things meant this process took longer than expected. It was a routine call and yet when I hung up all I…
I am Not a Commodity to be Bought
Recently I’ve started exploring my feelings around being a postgraduate student on this blog, documenting the highs and lows as it were of student life. But I’ve also been writing more about my interactions with others and exploring how I feel about being a blind person. In some ways I’ve always done this. This blog…
Cry over your research and then get over it
Today I cried over a research proposal. Truly I am living the very glamorous life of a postgraduate student. The research proposal is for an applied project that I’m completing in place of a dissertation for my master’s degree, and when I received the feedback on it all I could do was cry. Truthfully it…
Who should Speak for Justice?
I wish we put as much pressure on society to change as we put on young disabled people to learn self-advocacy skills. This is a particular problem within education and advocacy spaces, where the concept of self-advocacy is considered to be somewhat sacred. I used to really push for these skills, believing that they were…
Academia. It’s a Mystery
One very exciting thing about being a postgraduate student is that I get to attend a lot of academic conferences. But I also know just enough to enable me to submit papers and presentations of my own. There are whole events designed to give postgraduate students this kind of experience, and I’m jumping at the…
The pandemic has enabled me to be an introvert. I’m not sure that’s such a good thing
I’ve always been a strange mix of both extroverted and introverted. I love to travel and ask questions, especially in new places. I’m also quite happy to get up in front of a room full of people and deliver a speech, something that seems to terrify many people. Yet I avoid ordinary tasks, like going…
The Burden of Being a Disabled Student
If you asked me whether disabled people are a burden, I would tell you without hesitation that no, they are not. But it’s a hell of a lot easier to say positive things about the community you belong to than it is to say those positive things about yourself. I can quite happily cheer on…